So, first up on the menu were Jamie Oliver's South American Fishcakes - fennel seeds and chilli from the spice rack. I tweaked the method very slightly by baking the cakes instead of deep-frying (deep-frying seemed a bit too fatty, indulgent and messy for a week-night supper) and by using a combination of plain flour and polenta to coat them. I thought the slight crunch of polenta might be a tasty addition to the mix.
I couldn't imagine what to serve these with, and although the wilted pak choi was good, in future I would make a tomato salsa and more vegetables, but lose the tortilla chips. Perhaps some garlic flatbreads or brazilian cheese breads on the side. The flavours of the fishcakes were good - punchy chilli and fennel seeds made a good combination, but I might try a slightly stronger fish than cod in future or mix in some crab meat. A good start, but this one needs some tinkering!
Then, baked apples stuffed with blackberries and dusted with cinnamon sugar. I've had the blackberries in the freezer since the autumn, but they're now nearly all used up. So sad...we shall be blackberry-less until september. Please don't tell me I can buy them inthe supermarket - the ones on sale are a pale imitation of the real, wild, sharply flavoured variety!
The apples were good - crunchy on the outside from the cinnamon sugar but softly baked and juicy from the blackberries. Very nice.
Sunday? Cinnamon toast for breakfast. Tasty. I was finally feeling better from my cold by then, so the spice overload clearly worked!
